1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a an antenna support and more particularly to an antenna support which may be mounted on an electrical power transmission tower.
2. Description of the Related Art
An antenna support for a power transmission tower is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,402 with the antenna support including a support column positioned within the tower and having its base anchored in the ground. An antenna assembly is mounted on the upper end of the column. The column is secured to the tower for lateral support only by the tower so that substantially all of the weight of the antenna assembly is supported by the column and transferred to the base. The stated reason for having the base of the support column anchored in the ground with the tower only providing lateral support is that the weight of the antenna disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,402, if supported by the tower, would cause the tower to perhaps collapse.
The applicant herein has devised an antenna support which is much lighter than conventional antenna supports with its lightweight characteristics enabling the antenna support to be supported by the tower. Further, the antenna support of this invention is extremely easy to erect. Additionally, the antenna support of the invention may be mounted on towers other than electrical power transmission towers and may also be mounted on vertically disposed masts.
An antenna support is disclosed which may be used with an electrical power transmission tower, a cellular telephone transmission/receiving tower, or a vertically disposed mast. When the antenna support of this invention is used on an electrical power transmission tower, a vertically disposed mast is positioned between the legs of the tower with the mast being connected to the legs or lattice braces of the tower to provide lateral stability to the mast. An elongated pipe is positioned below the upper end of the mast and embraces the same. The elongated pipe is operatively secured to the legs of the tower by means of support bracing secured to and extending therebetween so that the tower supports the weight of the elongated pipe. The antenna support includes three triangular-shaped platform sections which have mounting rings at their inner ends which rest upon and are supported by the upper end of the elongated pipe. The positioning of the mounting rings on their respective platform sections is such that the mounting rings are stacked one upon the other. The platform sections are comprised of a lightweight composite material such as fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP). Means is provided for preventing the rotation of the platform sections with respect to the elongated pipe. Antennas are secured to the outer ends of the platform sections.
If the antenna support is being used on a conventional cellular telephone transmission/receiving tower, the platform sections are secured to the tower legs by support bracing so that the weight of the antenna support is borne by the tower rather than the mast. The antenna support is mounted on the mast as in the electrical power transmission tower embodiment.
The antenna support may also be mounted on a guy-wired mast.
A principal object of the invention is to provide a unique antenna support for use on an electrical power transmission tower, a conventional cellular telephone transmission/receiving tower, or a guy-wired mast.
A further object of the invention is to provide an antenna support including lightweight platform sections.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an antenna support for an electrical power transmission tower wherein the weight of the antenna support is borne by the tower.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an antenna support which is easy to erect.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.